What to Expect

 

1.    The Giant Statue of Buddha Maitreya

Leshan Buddha Statue is located in the Buddha Park of Leshan. To get into the park one needs to buy a ticket at 90 yuan. The statue sits by the cliff of Linyun Hill facing the Dadu River. Statue was carved in Tang Dynasty about 1200 years ago and the construction itself lasted for about a century. It is a statue of Maitreya Buddha, the future Buddha. The visit to the Buddha by foot starts from the entrance by walking on stairs for 300 meters and then down to the cliff trail to walk from its head part to its feet. Leshan Buddha Statue was listed as a world cultural heritage and visited by millions every year. 

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2.    The Buddha Park

Linyun Cliff Path is the trail where usually a long queue of people waiting to walk from top down to the foot of the statue. The entrance of the trail starts from north of the statue and ends by the cliff to the south. One can oversee the Dadu River and the city buildings from the other side. The closest one can get to the Buddha Statue is inside this park by using this trail even though it is always crowded. 
Linyun Temple is the temple next to the head of the statue. With very exquisite decorations, this temple has very nice Buddha statues inside. This temple is free of charge.
Dongpo Tower is the highest construction of Leshan Buddha Park yet you can not see much from there because the trees block your view. By Dongpo Tower you get to see the words from Su Dongpo, a famous poet from Song Dynasty that has great works of literature in Chinese history.
Dongfang Buddha Carves is a complex of more Buddha carvings. This places requires an extra of 90 yuan for entry.

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3.    Boat View of Leshan Buddha Statue

A boat trip is separated from a visit to Buddha Park by foot. Usually visitors choose to do either one of them but some people do both. A boat trip is available on both sides of the Minjiang River (east and west). A boat trip costs 70 yuan per person and takes about 40 minutes in total. Compared to the usual crowded Buddha Park, a boat trip saves time and has a better chance to take the full photo of the Buddha Statue. 

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4.    Lots of Visitors
10 out of 10 times you see lots of visitors at Leshan Buddha Park. There is crowded time, more crowded time and super-crowded time. You are recommended to go into the park as early as possible or in the late afternoon if you do want to save time by not wasting it in a long queue waiting to walk the cliff path. The busiest time of the day include morning, noon, afternoon. Try to avoid Golden Week (1st week of October) and Chinese New Year when visiting this park. The long queue in the Buddha Park can take you as long as 2-3 hours to get through. Although this is for visitors who go into the Buddha Park by foot, visitors that use a boat normally doesn’t need to wait a long time, instead it saves time as the more people there are, the quicker the boat is full hence the shorter time it takes on waiting.

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Location/Map

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CLeshan Grand Buddha Park is located 140km south to the city of Chengdu and a 2.5 hours’ driving on road. Both public bus and fast train can get you to the Buddha Park from Chengdu. This tourist park is located by the river junction of Minjiang River and Dadu River.